BELLATOR HAS THE RIGHT IDEA FOR DECIDING ITS CHAMPION

Middleweight, featherweight semifinals set for Thursday at Pechanga

On the heels of one of the UFC’s most successful Pay-Per-View draws ever, UFC 157, held in Anaheim on Feb. 23, big-time MMA returns to Southern California on Thursday. This time, Bellator MMA will hold its middleweight and featherweight tournament semifinals at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula.

Bellator has been gaining ground against its chief rival, the UFC, as of late, gaining a contract to show its events live on Spike TV and moving its headquarters from Chicago to Newport Beach. The chief difference between the two organizations is that, save for a few select individuals, UFC boasts the biggest talent pool in the sport, while Bellator focuses its competitive model on a single-elimination tournament structure, with the winner earning a guaranteed title shot against each division’s champion.

In many ways, one could argue that this sort of meritocracy, where fighters hold the keys to their own success, is more pure to the sport than the promotion-based model that at times pairs not the No. 1 contender against the champ, but the biggest potential draw for ticket and Pay-Per-View sales. How else do you explain John Jones getting his second consecutive middleweight opponent in the 205-pound class, against Chael Sonnen no less, when more than a handful of worthy light-heavyweights wait for “The Ultimate Fighter” to run out its season?

In Bellator, if you win, you advance; if you lose, you go home. Period.

There’s plenty of reason to pay attention to the events, too. Now that they have moved past MTV2 and into the world of Spike, it’s not a broad leap for them to win over a fan base that was built on the same channel through the first several seasons of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the same reality show that is credited for bridging the UFC into the mainstream to begin with.

Bellator fighters have something to fight for, an instant incentive for barnburner competition where they have no choice but to lay it on the line. These guys are up for the biggest tryout of their careers, climbing the ladder to the top of a major organization, albeit one that still plays second fiddle to the Goliath, UFC.

There is plenty of top talent in its ranks, arguably the best of which is 11-0 lightweight Michael Chandler, of Chula Vista’s Alliance MMA. Chandler is a top-10 prospect in any organization, and one of the most exciting fighters in the division. Pat Curran, King Mo Lawal and the brothers Pitbull, Patricio and Patricky Freire, could all easily hold their own in the UFC.

The big question of any organization competing with the promotion-devouring UFC is: Will they be able to keep their top fighters, sponsors and contracts out of the clutches of the original American-based cagefight king?

With the recent rash of 100-plus fighters cut from UFC ranks due to the growing number of talented fighters, it seems that at least for a while, there will be room for other organizations to put on great shows. With the exposure to a growing international footprint of more than 110 countries, and free live events, Bellator will be very interesting to keep an eye on for the foreseeable future.

Bellator 92 goes off on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Pechanga Resort and Casino. Ticket prices range from $150 cageside to $50 general admission, and will air live on Spike.